Case-Control Study of Intracranial Tumors Among Employees at a Petrochemical Research Facility

• Published in: Journal of occupational and environmental medicine 2001-12, Vol.43 (12), p.1103-1113
• Main Authors: Beall, Colleen, Delzell, Elizabeth, Rodu, Brad, Sathiakumar, Nalini, Lees, Peter S. J., Breysse, Patrick N., Myers, Susan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; amines; Biological and medical sciences; Brain; Brain Neoplasms - chemically induced; Brain Neoplasms - epidemiology; Case-Control Studies; Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases; Chemical Industry - statistics & numerical data; Cohort Studies; Female; Glioma - chemically induced; Glioma - epidemiology; Hazardous Substances - adverse effects; Humans; Illinois - epidemiology; Male; Medical sciences; Occupational Diseases - chemically induced; Occupational Diseases - epidemiology; Occupational Exposure - adverse effects; Occupational Exposure - statistics & numerical data; Occupational health; Petrochemicals industry; Petroleum - adverse effects; Research Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Surveys and Questionnaires; Toxicology; Tumors; Various organic compounds
• ISSN: 1076-2752; 1536-5948
• DOI: 10.1097/00043764-200112000-00012

This case-control study evaluated the relation between potential exposure to chemical and physical agents and the occurrence of intracranial tumors among employees at a petrochemical research facility. Cases were employe with glioma (n = 6) or benign intracranial tumors (n = 6). Controls (n = 119) were individually matched to cases on gender and birth year, and they were alive and did not have an intracranial tumor at the case's diagnosis date. Exposure information came from interviews with subjects or surrogates and from corporate records on agents used in research projects. Analyses computed matched odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for self-reported exposure to 15 agents and project-based estimates of exposure to 29 agents. For gliomas, the OR was elevated for self-reported exposure to ionizing radiation (OR, 15.7; CI, 1.4 to 179.4), n-hexane (OR, ∞; CI, 1.4 to ∞), organometallics (OR, 9.4; CI, 1.5 to 59.7), and amines other than nitrosamines (OR, 6.0; CI, 1.0 to 35.7). The OR also was elevated for project-based potential use of ionizing radiation (OR, 9.6; CI, 1.7 to 55.2) and for potential use of n-hexane lasting at least 4 years (OR, 16.2; CI, 1.1 to 227.6). For benign intracranial tumors, the OR was elevated only for self-reported exposure to ionizing radiation (OR, 5.4; CI, 1.7 to 43.1) and other amines (OR, 5.2; CI, 0.9 to 29.5). Occupational exposure may have contributed to the glioma excess, but the specific causal agents remain unknown. The study indicated that benign intracranial tumors were unlikely to be work-related.